NEWS SNIPPETS

The following news snippets were also published in the Wellington Botanical Society Newsletter

May 2008 News

 Chris and Brian Rance honoured

We congratulate BotSoccers, Chris and Brian, whose knowledge of the indigenous flora of the southern South Island, and dedication to its conservation, have been acknowledged in the naming of a newly discovered buttercup from Fiordland – Ranunculus ranceorum.

Bev Abbott, President

Source: The Southland Times 14 March 2008, via BotSoccer Kaaren Mitcalfe, Pounawaea, Catlins.

 QEII Trust Open Space Covenants

The Trust has recently registered the following Open Space Covenants in the Wellington region:
•   Horowhenua D.C. / Mayclair – 0.7 ha forest
•   Tararua D.C. / Hales – 0.3 ha forest
•   Masterton D.C. / McKay, Houston & Lowes – 6 ha forest
•   South Wairarapa D.C. / Moiki Farm Ltd – 5.7 ha forest
•   Hutt C.C. / Daglish – 4.2 ha forest.

Source: Open Space no. 72, 3/08/07

For information on covenanting indigenous plant communities, or other natural features, on your property, contact:
QEII National Trust, Box 3341, WN 6140.   Ph 472 6626.
Wellington Regional Representative: Lisa Clapcott, ph 06 364 2207, lclapcott (at) openspace.org.nz

 Land protection

Wellington Conservancy, Department of Conservation has recently protected the following site:

Whirokino Covenant-Kapiti Area   c. 6.85 ha.   Protects a shallow dune lake formed by parabolic dunes on Whirokino Farm, near Foxton, the wetland being representative of dune lakes formerly found in Horowhenua.   Contains raupo reed-land, flax and sedges.

The conservation covenant replaces and extends one of 6993m², registered when the farm was transferred to Landcorp in 1992.   Public access is by arrangement with the owners, Doug and Glynis Easton, and Owen Tucker.

David Bishop, Community Relations Officer, Wellington Conservancy, Department of Conservation, Ph 472 5821

 Threatened plants need our attention

DOC is seeking information on the distribution of several threatened plant species in its Poneke Area (including Wellington Peninsula south from Makara, Hutt Valley, Rimutaka Forest Park, Wainuiomata and Turakirae coast).   The Department holds little or no information about these species in Poneke Area, and seeks BotSoccers’ help in collating existing records, and recording further occurrences.   The species are:

 Karori Tunnel eastern portal planting

Comparing a photograph of the site taken during the 2003 planting, with the site today, shows that the growth of the planted species since then has been remarkable.   Last spring some of the kowhai began to flower and perhaps this spring the coastal flaxes will flower, attracting some of the many tui in these parts.   The Poa cita, silver tussocks, are now very much at home in the dry, exposed, upper area where they are best suited.   Recent showers have produced a surge of weed growth in the remaining gaps, which I am hoping to fill with this year’s allocation of flax and silver tussock from Berhampore Nursery.   WHEN THE TIME COMES, ALL OFFERS TO HELP PLANT WILL BE WELCOMED.

Barbara Mitcalfe

 Karori Sanctuary Botanical Trail – now open!

Several years ago BotSoc offered to set up a Botanical Trail to encourage Sanctuary visitors to pause and learn about the native plants regenerating alongside Lake Road and Te Mahanga Track.   The self-guided Botanical Trail has now developed from an idea into a reality, an easy walk from the Visitor Centre.   Sub-titled “An introduction to some native plants in Karori Sanctuary”, the accompanying Guide, available at the Visitor Centre, was designed to interest and inform.   Particular care was taken to minimise the use of technical terms.   A separate sheet with a botanical glossary, and a list of the common, Maori and botanical names of the plants selected, is also available.   Clearly-numbered posts, from 1 to 16, stand beside the plants selected along the Trail, which are illustrated and described in the Guide.   BotSoc contributed to funding the printing, and the text was developed by BotSoc volunteers in consultation with the Sanctuary Marketing Team.   May we suggest you try out the Botanical Trail next time you are in the Sanctuary?   Comments are invited.

Barbara Mitcalfe and Chris Horne

 Members’ Evening – 17 March 2008

We thank the following for their contributions to a fascinating evening:
•   Sunita Singh, Syd Moore and Chris Horne – slides of Aotea / Great Barrier Island field trip.
•   Carol West – slides of NZ and other species growing in England, Scotland and Ireland.
•   Margaret Harper – South Coast Marine BioBlitz, and her recording 164 taxa of diatoms, including one new genus, and one new species.
•   Arnold Dench – Comments on sadly neglected state of Cockayne Rock Garden at Christchurch Botanic Garden; specialised alpine plants from Banks Peninsula, Eyre Mountains, Southern Alps, Rimutaka Range.
•   Bev Abbott – Druce Collection at Percy Scenic Reserve.
•   Bryan Halliday – Gunnera monoica, Rakiura / Stewart Island.
•   Dave Holey – ceramic plates depicting kowhai, NI tieke / saddleback, and native frog.12

December 2007 News

 Sue Millar honoured

We congratulate Sue who received a civic award from Upper Hutt Mayor, Wayne Guppy, “for her considerable contribution to the environment and conservation in Upper Hutt, particularly through her involvement with Forest and Bird and Wellington Botanical Society”.

Sue co-leads, with Glennis Sheppard, two BotSoc workbees in Te Marua Bush a year.   Other work cited in her award includes :
•   Leading the establishment of a nursery at Rimutaka Prison from 1985 to 2003, when it moved to Maidstone Park,
•   Leading the raising of over 30,000 native plants, and workbees to plant them in restoration sites around the city,
•   Implementing and co-ordinating planting and weeding activities in all Forest and Bird restoration sites in the city over the past 20 years.

Well done, Sue!

Source: Upper Hutt Leader, 31/10/2007.

 Loder Cup 2007

The Loder Cup was awarded this year to Amanda Baird, DOC’s biodiversity programme manager on the Chatham Islands.   Based on Chatham Island since 1996, Amanda has been instrumental in bringing many threatened Chatham Island plant species back from the brink of extinction, as well as working tirelessly to protect and restore vegetation on the Chathams.   Congratulations Amanda.

 NZ Biodiversity Recording Network

The network is an online system for viewing and recording natural history observations from anywhere in the country; for common species, from common places, as well as the rarities.

It will enable you to set up a site from your backyard or school grounds, and build up a picture of the changing of nature through the years or seasons.   If you have any problems, contact meurkc (at) landcareresearch.co.nz

The network is funded from Terrestrial and Freshwater Biodiversity Information Services (TFBIS), and hosted by Landcare Research.   www.nzbrn.org.nz.

 National Pollination Survey (NPS)

The purpose of the NPS is to survey bird-plant mutualisms throughout NZ.   We are using the pollination service for tree fuchsia as an indicator of the health and wellbeing of our native ecosystems.   This is part of research run jointly by Landcare Research, Department of Conservation, and University of Canterbury.

We need your assistance.   We need lots of people to complete the survey from many locations all over NZ this summer!   Please help by completing the survey for a tree fuchsia population near you.

For more information, and survey forms, visit: www.biol.canterbury.ac.nz/pollination_survey/index.shtml.

Jenny Ladley, Research Assistant, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury.

 MWH Seed Bank

New Zealand’s only native plant seed bank was opened in Palmerston North in August.   It will ensure the survival of more than 200 threatened species, by drying the seeds, then storing them at minus 20 degrees C.

The bank joins a worldwide seed bank network working to protect plants from the effects of climate change.   It was mooted by the NZ Plant Conservation Network.   Northland iwi, Ngati Kuri, donated the first seeds for the bank, which is housed at AgResearch’s Margo Forde Germplasm Centre.   The bank was funded by environmental consultancy, MWH NZ, and will be managed by AgResearch.

Source: The Dominion Post, 17 August 2007.

 Land protection

Wellington Conservancy, Department of Conservation has recently protected the following sites :
•   Lake Huritini covenant-Kapiti Area.
•   c. 15 ha.   Protects a shallow dune lake formed by parabolic dunes damming runoff from a flood plain; highly representative of dune lakes formerly found in Horowhenua.   Contains raupo reed land, flax and sedges, with cabbage trees over Coprosma propinqua.   Access to the lake is by arrangement with the Minister and owner for botanical purposes only.
•   Stonewall proposed scenic reserve, Wairarapa. 121 ha.   Owner: HMQ (DOC, Wellington Conservancy).   Protects threatened plant communities of regionally vulnerable coastal turfs, consolidated coastal gravel and beach, grey scrub and coastal scarp adjoining Aorangi Forest Park; includes western part of Ngapotiki Fan.   Contains threatened Pimelea / Raoulia mat plant association; an undescribed Notoreas moth; Austrofestuca littoralis; and other regionally significant plant species including: Cheilanthes distans, Chionochloa beddiei, Coriaria ‘rimutaka’, Eryngium vesciculosum, Scandia geniculata, Sonchus kirkii and Sophora molloyi.

David Bishop, Community Relations Officer, Wellington Conservancy, Department of Conservation, Phone 472 5821.

 “Carex raotest”

Curious about a slightly bronze carex I had seen occasionally on the Carrad Covenant trip, I brought back a small specimen to study.   Unfortunately I had found no mature ones, and had to be content with a very young flower head, only about 7 cm tall.   Even under magnification it was too immature to be useful for identification, so I sent the specimen to Colin Ogle, in Wanganui.   Colin had lived and botanised in Pukerua Bay for many years, so I couldn’t have chosen a better person.   Back came the prompt, full reply – that it was the unnamed “Carex raotest”, so tag-named because it has features of both C. raoulii and C. testacea.   Colin went on to write that when Tony Druce first saw the plant at Colin’s he immediately suggested the tag-name, and admitted that he had probably listed it in various places as C. raoulii, which in fact is much less common.   Colin says “To me, from live material, the main features are (a) leaf shape in cross section – double-folded leaves = C. raoulii, C. ‘raotest’, V-shaped = C. testacea; (b) utricles hispid on surface = C raoulii; utricles smooth, with maybe odd, fine spines on the beak and / or shoulder of the utricle = C. testacea, C. ‘raotest’; (c) terminal spikes purely male = C. testacea, C. ‘raotest’; terminal spike with some utricles at outermost tip = C. raoulii.”

Barbara Mitcalfe

 Northern rata flowering

Take Waterworks Road west from SH2 at Kaitoke, to Pakuratahi Forks, Kaitoke Regional Park, at the end of December – early January, to see if up to fifty northern rata / Metrosideros robusta are in flower.   Take binoculars, so that you can study the many huge trees close-up!

Dave Holey

Epilobium microphyllum, winner of the 2007 favourite plant poll. Photo: Naomi Lorimer

 New Zealand’s favourite plant for 2007

The willowherb, Epilobium microphyllum, won this year’s NZ Plant Conservation Network poll for New Zealand’s favourite plant.   E. microphyllum occurs from Kawhia and East Cape south to Stewart Island.

Other plants in the top ten this year were Chatham Island forget-me-not, bamboo rush, tawari, nikau, northern rata, kakabeak, coral broom, Poor Knights lily, and water brome.   For more information about NZ’s favourite plant see www.nzpcn.org.nz.

 QEII Trust Open Space Covenants

The trust has recently registered the following Open Space Covenants in the Wellington region :
•   Kapiti Coast D.C. / Rowe - 3.8 ha forest,
•   Kapiti Coast D.C. / Tyler Prentis Properties Limited - 0.5 ha wetland,
•   Upper Hutt C.C. / Money and Tyson - 0.3 ha forest.

Source: Open Space no. 71, 11/07

 BotSoc of Otago calendar

Congratulations to BSO on compiling and producing their beautifully illustrated 2008 calendar.

In A4 landscape format, with large, bold figures and a bonus page for January 2009, it is a very good buy at $13 plus $1.50 postage.   Ranunculus sericophyllus adorns the cover, then there’s a sharp reminder on January 2008’s page, that exotic plants such as Hieracium lepidulum (pictured en mass) have invaded too many indigenous plant comunities in New Zealand.   A wide range of plant types is pictured, from colourful, crustose lichen Placopsis perrugosa to snow-white mountain ribbonwood, Hoheria lyallii.

Barbara Mitcalfe

 Percy Scenic Reserve news

Redevelopment news – SH 2 realignment.     The works around the nursery area are nearly complete.   The culvert work for Percy’s Stream is the last step.   The Head-Wall has been installed after being constructed on site, and gabions are to be placed in the stream walls for protection against flood.

Petone foreshore – threatened plant gardens.     The Percy crew look after the gardens at Petone Foreshore around Settlers Museum and Buick Street.   These gardens are not irrigated but are amazingly resistant to drought and salt spray.
Some of the more threatened plants thriving are :
Aciphylla dieffenbachii, A. squarrosa, Austrofestuca littoralis, Euphorbia glauca, Eryngium vesiculosum, Carmichaelia kirkii, Chionochloa beddiei, Coprosma propinqua ‘Moa Point’, Lepidium flexicaule, L. oleraceum, Muehlenbeckia astonii, Pimelea aff. aridula ‘Cook Strait’, Pimelea aff. aridula ‘Te Mata Peak’, Selliera rotundifolia.
The gardens directly adjacent to the Museum building are Wellington coastal species.   It was designed by Robyn Smith in 2002 and is maintained in this theme and enhanced as Wellington coastal species become available.

Jill Broome, Plant Collections Supervisor, Percy Scenic Reserve

September 2007 News

 2007 AGM

2007/2008 committee.

At the 68th Annual General Meeting on 20 August 2007, the following were elected:

 NIWA Science Fair

Tariq Kader and Josiah Nelson, year seven pupils at Karori Normal school, won this year’s Botanical Society prize for their project “Sweating plants”.   Our judges, Gordon Leary and Rodney Lewington, said the project was neatly designed and the two boys had clearly thought a lot about the project.   They had chosen five native plants of different leaf forms and presumed different leaf transpiration rates, and had devised a simple and visual way of measuring the uptake of water by the plants.The results, predictably, showed that water transpiration was the greatest in the big rangiora leaves and was the smallest in the totara leaves.

Bev Abbott

Adiantum hispidulum from the south-west Aorangi Range. Photo: Leon Perrie.

 Adiantum hispidulum

We recently discovered a population of Adiantum hispidulum in the south-west Aorangi Range.   The distribution of this fern is exceedingly sparse south of about Taupo.   The only other records we are aware of are a couple from the Chatham Islands, a couple from Taranaki, one from a Levin garden, and one from Wellington (near Ngauranga).   Several of these specimens are morphologically unusual, and merit further investigation.   We would be grateful for details of additional populations from the lower North Island or South Island.

Leon Perrie and Patrick Brownsey, Te Papa, P.O. Box 467, Wellington, leonp@tepapa.govt.nz, 04 381 7261.

 Another Te Marua Bush Extension???

At only 0.9 ha, the Bush needs to expand to reduce the “edge effect”, and thereby increase its long-term sustainability.   GW Ranger, Steve Edwards, suggested to us that in addition to continuing to infill-plant the new Te Marua Bush extension, we begin planting the strip of road reserve bordering the west side of the pony paddock immediately north of the Bush.   Steve’s idea has the full support of GW’s Philippa Crisp, Principal Adviser, Planning, Parks, and was warmly received by the workbee members on the day.   Next Autumn, as preparation for planting, GW will first rip the strip, as they did for the new extension, since the substrate is likely to be at least as bouldery as the Bush itself.   Imagine eventually a stately avenue of podocarp-broadleaf forest, adding to existing indigenous biodiversity and local amenity.   There is no shortage of locally sourced seedlings, and provided Upper Hutt Forest and Bird Branch are willing and able to continue their staunch propagating and potting-up efforts, and as long as we, BotSoc, continue our own efforts, it will be yet another stage in our long-term, botanical partnership with GW.   So, congratulations, Steve, for an inspirational idea!

Barbara Mitcalfe

 Cars, carbon and climate

Dieter Steinegg, Tree Officer, Christchurch City Council, spoke to Canterbury BotSoc about modern arboriculture, and the role of trees in urban areas.   He highlighted the influence of trees on the climate, and estimated the number of trees required to offset the carbon emissions of one of the more than 303,125 motor vehicles registered in Christchurch.   There are about 150,000 trees on council land now, but about 3,637,500 trees would be required to offset the emissions of the city’s vehicle fleet.

Dieter said that in 50 years, one tree recycles over $37,000 worth of water, provides $31,000 worth of erosion control, $62,000 worth of pollution control, and produces $37,000 worth of oxygen.   Trees near buildings can reduce air-conditioning needs by 30%, and can save 20-50% in energy used for heating.   They aid stormwater management, reduce runoff and erosion, and help to recharge groundwater supplies.   He said that every 1000 urban trees we plant today will save over $1m in stormwater management, pollution abatement, and energy costs.

Dieter encourages people to plant more trees, and notes that people who plant trees become healthier, better looking, richer, and have more friends!

Source: Canterbury Botanical Society Newsletter, 8/07.

 Peter Johnson honoured

We congratulate Dr Peter Johnson, who has been awarded the 2007 H.H.Allan Mere Award, for his outstanding contribution to botany in New Zealand.   Peter has been an active member of the botanical fraternity for many decades and has published widely in both the academic and popular press.   His publications include the well-known Wetland Plants in New Zealand, which he co-authored with P.A. Brooke, and books on weeds and wildflowers.   His reports to biodiversity protection agencies, all accompanied by detailed plant species lists, informative illustrations and perceptive advice, have led to the protection of many areas in southern New Zealand.   Herbariums throughout the country include specimens he has collected.   Audiences at many conferences, schools and organisations have appreciated his first rate communication and photographic skills, his sense of humour, and passion for New Zealand’s plants.

Wellington Botanical Society and the Botanical Society of Otago both nominated Peter for the Award.   Carol West and Bill Lee wrote letters of support for our nomination.

The name of the Award recognises the Harry Howard Allan, the first Director of the former DSIR Botany Division and the symbol of the award, a handsome pounamu (nephrite) mere (handclub).   It was originally presented to DSIR Botany Divison in 1982 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Allan’s birthday.   The award is now administered by the New Zealand Botanical Society.

Bev Abbott, President

 QEII Trust Open Space Covenants

The trust has recently registered the following Open Space Covenants in the Wellington region:
•   Manawatu R.C. / Martin - 27.9 ha forest
•   Tararua D.C. / Perry & Hindmarsh - 36.8 ha forest
•   Tararua D.C. / Speedy (x2) - 19.9 ha forest
•   Tararua D.C. / Wright - 3.7 ha forest
•   Masterton D.C. / Campbell - 10.5 ha forest and wetland
•   Carterton D.C. / Guscott & Joblin - 17.4 ha forest

Source: Open Space no. 70, 7/07.

 Conservation Awards

We congratulate BotSoccers Jean Luke, for her work at Queen Elizabeth Park, and Clive Paton, for incorporating conservation into Ata Rangi Vineyard’s business plan.   They received their awards from Hon Chris Carter, in the Great Hall at Parliament.

Editor

 Pest animal alert, Mk. II

At the behest of United Future, Hon Chris Carter, Minister of Conservation, set up an independent panel to consider recreational and environmental matters concerning deer, chamois, thar and pigs.

According to the discussion paper just released by the panel, “environmental pests such as feral deer and pigs could be developed as ‘game’ animals by adding females to boost breeding numbers, or releasing sires with better quality genes” (The Dominion Post 19/9/07).   According to panel chair, Margaret Austin, a former Minister of Science, “There is a long-standing controversy over the significant impact these animals have on many of New Zealand’s fragile native habitats”.

As noted in our May 2007 Newsletter, pest animals tend to browse preferred palatable species to near-extinction, or actual extinction, in areas they infest.   We said that it is essential that the panel include ecologists and botanists to present the case for retention of pest animal status for all four species in the wild.   This will ensure that the Department of Conservation and district and regional councils will be able to mount pest control operations whenever necessary.   We welcome the appointment to the panel of Sue Maturin, Forest and Bird, and Graham Nugent, Landcare Research.

Submissions Due 6 November.   See “How to manage deer, chamois, thar and pigs - consultation document”.   Secretary, PO Box 9134, Christchurch 8243.   www.gameanimalpanel.org.nz.

Editor

 Karori Tunnel Planting

Despite the difficulties presented by this site, the previous plantings are looking good.   Another 50 Phormium cookianum and Poa cita were planted here last week by three generations of Mitties and a Horne, but there are still spaces needing filling with next year’s plants, to control weeds, add amenity and increase indigenous cover.

May 2007 News

 QEII Trust Open Space Covenants

The trust has recently registered the following Open Space Covenants in the Wellington region :
•   Tararua D.C. / Ellingham – 3.2 ha forest
•   Masterton D.C. / Bartlett – 35.3 ha forest
•   Masterton D.C. / Birch – 9.1 ha forest
•   Masterton D.C. / Joblin – 11.5 ha forest
•   Masterton D.C. / Waimapu Land Developments Ltd – 0.8 ha forest
•   Wellington C.C. / Wellington Natural Heritage Trust Inc. – 8.2 ha forest.

Source: Open Space no. 69, 4/07

 Land protection

Wellington Conservancy, Department of Conservation, has recently protected the following sites :
•   Mahaki covenant, Kapiti Area.   18.8 ha.   Protects lowland forest adjoining Paraparaumu Scenic Reserve.
•   Ata Rangi Conservation Covenant, Wairarapa Area.   33.5 ha.   Protects podocarp forest with alluvial stream flats, podocarp-beech on terrace risers, and beech forest associated with incised stream.
•   Fairbrother’s Conservation Covenant, Wairarapa Area.   43.25 ha.   Protects riparian beech forest with an ‘incised-to-bedrock’ stream bed.   The forest, on the older soils of the Aorangi Range, has a denser understorey than the more recent alluvial terrace forest in the nearby Ata Rangi Covenant.   The forest contains the rare leafless mistletoe.
•   Kanuka Management Agreement, Wairarapa Area.   1 ha.   Protects a small, dense area of mixed divaricating shrubs, including populations of Coprosma obconica, Pittosporum obcordatum and at least 30 individuals of Coprosma pedicellata.

David Bishop, Community Relations Officer, Wellington Conservancy, Department of Conservation, Ph 472 5821

 Sheila Natusch ONZM

We congratulate Sheila, appointed an Officer of the NZ Order of Merit in the New Year’s Honours, for her work as a botanical author and illustrator.

Editor

 Maureen Young honoured

We congratulate Maureen, winner of the NZ Plant Conservation Network 2006 Individual Award.   Maureen, a skilled botanist, is “one of the most important advocates for plant conservation in Auckland.   She has assisted the Department of Conservation with locating threatened plant sites over many years … she is a legend”.   Maureen has been on several of our summer field trips, including our Borland Lodge, Southland, trip in 2000/01, a long way from her home in Warkworth!

Editor

 Pest animal alert

At the behest of United Future NZ, the Government is to set up a consultation panel to consider recreational and environmental matters concerning deer, chamois, tahr and pigs.

Given the tendency for pest animals to browse preferred palatable species to near-extinction, or actual extinction, in areas they infest, it is essential that the proposed panel includes ecologists and botanists to present the case for retention of pest animal status for all four species in the wild.   This will ensure that the Department of Conservation and district and regional councils will be able to mount control operations whenever it is deemed necessary.   Peruse the Public Notices in your daily paper for information about the panel, its publications, and deadlines for submissions.

Editor

 Maureen Young honoured

We congratulate Maureen, winner of the NZ Plant Conservation Network 2006 Individual Award.   Maureen, a skilled botanist, is “one of the most important advocates for plant conservation in Auckland.   She has assisted the Department of Conservation with locating threatened plant sites over many years … she is a legend”.   Maureen has been on several of our summer field trips, including our Borland Lodge, Southland, trip in 2000/01, a long way from her home in Warkworth!

Editor

 Karori Sanctuary Botanical Trail

Members will note that the Sanctuary’s official title has recently been amended by the Trust to omit the word “wildlife” which they say has proved misleading in the minds of overseas visitors in particular.

The Sanctuary has now obtained funding for a brochure to accompany self-guided walkers along Te Mahanga Track.   BotSoc initiated the idea and is part-funding the brochure, which is designed for walkers with little or no botanical background.   It describes some of the plants seen en route, and includes selected, relevant, phenological and ecological information.   Barbara Mitcalfe and Chris Horne have spent many months as volunteers drafting the text and negotiating amendments to meet both the Sanctuary’s and BotSoc’s precise requirements.

 The Ornithological Society of NZ

OSNZ promotes the study of birds by organising, providing some equipment, and helping to fund, bird study in NZ.   It publishes Notornis – a quarterly scientific journal, Southern Bird – a magazine, and occasional books describing the results of bird studies in NZ, the southwest Pacific and Antarctica.

OSNZ is a voluntary group dependent on the enthusiasm, active participation, knowledge and financial support of its members.   It has no paid staff, and is a charitable society.   It runs field trips to teach people more about birds, where to find them and how to study them.

OZNZ is not a conservation organisation, but the studies its members do provide information on which sound conservation decisions can be made.

Subscriptions :   Ordinary: $57.50; student: $30; life: $1150; institute / group: $115; corporate: $290.

OSNZ Membership, PO Box 12-1039, Henderson, Auckland.

 Ian Atkinson honoured

“The Ian Atkinson Laboratory for Biodiversity and Restoration Ecology Research” has been established at Victoria University, the first university in New Zealand to recognise formally the importance of such studies.   It also recognises and honours the personal, lifelong work of internationally known ecologist Dr Ian Atkinson, to promote interest in restoration ecology as a means of making our conservation methods more effective “Studying restoration ecology furthers our efforts to protect the nation’s native plants and animals as well as the biological communities essential for their survival,” says Ian, a long-term BotSoccer.   We congratulate Ian on his well-deserved distinction, and the invitation from Victoria to use a work station there.   This has given him the chance to interact with both students and staff, which he says is,“always a stimulating way of clarifying one’s thinking and perhaps coming up with an idea that will work!”

 Ecological restoration programmes

Victoria University, with Karori Sanctuary, and Massey University, is offering three programmes: MSc, Postgraduate Diploma, and Postgraduate Certificate in Ecological Restoration.

Visit www.victoria.ac.nz/sbs/ or contact:

Ecological Restoration Co-ordinator, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University, P.O. Box 600, Wellington.   Ph 04-463 5339; Fax 04-463 5331, E-mail: biosci (at) vuw.ac.nz.

 Rakiura Matters

Gunnera hamiltonii.   Photo: Chris Rance / DOC.

The draft Rakiura / Stewart Island Conservation Management Strategy and the draft Rakiura National Park Management Plan issued in September 2006 attracted over 400 submissions.   Recently a spate of letters to Southland Times shows that DOC’s proposed eradication of marram grass, an invasive, Australian species, from areas of Stewart Island’s Mason Bay, is a “hot” issue for some.   Meanwhile, pingao and sand tussock, (both in gradual decline nationally), spinifex, and even the nationally critically endangered Rakiura endemic Gunnera hamiltonii are being smothered by billowing hectares of marram, a sight which those of us BotSoccers who were in Mason Bay last January will not be likely to forget.

Barbara Mitcalfe

 Karori Tunnel eastern portal planting

Once an eyesore, this steep face is now an example of how a weedy, rubbishy, “waste” area can be transformed by appropriate planting, with the cooperation, resources and services of WCC’s Berhampore Nursery.   Next time you’re going through the tunnel towards Karori, glance up and enjoy the sight of wharariki, harakeke, silver tussock and kowhai, all supplied by the Nursery, plus some assistance with planting on this potentially hazardous site.   With some more tussocks and flax to be planted this Spring, the site should be virtually self-sustaining.   It is just one of many sites which could do with some community interest and input – is there such a site near you?   If you and your neighbours combine and agree on a planting plan, you can order some free, native plants early in the year and a Nursery staff person will visit the site and advise you on what they can supply for you to plant in the following Spring.

Barbara Mitcalfe

 The plight of urban trees

Wellington City Council recently reduced the amount of “yard” space which can be taken up by infill buildings, but existing city trees still have a tough time, especially in areas where there is development pressure, and unfortunately Wellington has no tree-protection rule.   The city’s few rata are a case in point, for example, the fine, shapely northern rata near the corner of Victoria and Abel Smith streets.   It grows at the intersection of several property boundaries and its crown overhangs two of them slightly.   With resource consent, a contractor has erected a two-storeyed building on the property immediately south of the rata.   Care has been taken to protect the rata trunk, but construction has necessitated some root and crown trimming.   A Council arborist has been regularly monitoring the site and advising the contractor and it remains to be seen how the tree responds.

December 2006 News

 Winter planting in Wellington

Despite the wet winter, WCC staff, community groups and other volunteers have planted about 110,000 plants around the city, most grown at WCC’s Berhampore Nursery.   Plantings included 2500 on Lyall Bay dunes, 2400 at Hape Stream near the former Owhiro Bay quarry, 5500 sedges and grasses on the banks of the realigned section of a tributary of Karori Stream along the west side of Karori Park, and 1500 northern rata, 100 rimu and 1000 other native plants on Tinakori Hill.   The bush areas in the Botanic Garden are being restored, and this year twelve black maire seedlings were planted, propagated from the last original tree in the Garden, the first seedling being planted by Mayor Kerry Prendergast.   Another 1000 plants have been planted to help to restore the bush areas, some of them as buffer plantings on their margins.

Source: Absolutely Positively Wellington Newsletter October 2006

 Otari BioBlitz: Fri 23 & Sat 24 March

Several BotSoc members have already expressed an interest in assisting the plant team on the Bioblitz.   The focus is on field identification of plants with some identification being made at a base in the Otari School Hall.   If you would like to be involved and want to know more about the plant side of the Bioblitz then contact Rodney Lewington, rodneyjl (at) xtra.co.nz (04) 475 3145.   If your interest is in other biota (spiders, snails, bugs, algae to name a few) please contact Phil Garnock-Jones, Phil.Garnock-Jones (at) vuw.ac.nz

 Kupe / Kevin Smith Marine Reserve

We welcome the establishment of this 840-ha reserve on Wellington’s south coast between Te Raekaihau Point in the east, and Owhiro Bay in the west.   After survey and gazettal in 2007, it will protect in perpetuity the area’s natural features and marine life.   When announcing the formation of the reserve, the Minister of Conservation, Hon. Chris Carter, said “…it is to be sited at the confluence of three oceanic currents.   The confluence brings together warm, cold temperate and sub- Antarctic waters, allowing a rich and unusual variety of sea life to thrive.   Over 180 fish species are found off Wellington’s south coast”.   Source: The Dominion Post 7 December 2006.   Dr Wendy Nelson, a marine biologist, notes that “The Wellington South Coast is a rugged environment with scenic, cultural, recreational and scientific values.   There is high biodiversity in the Cook Strait region – for example there are over 400 species of macroalgae found in this region, representing 40% of NZ’s total flora from the Kermadecs to the sub-Antarctic islands.   This level of diversity is very high in global terms – and it is remarkable that it is found such a short distance from the capital city“.

The reserve is 32nd of NZ’s marine reserve which together protect about 0.3% of the mainland’s coastline.   The 2167-ha Kapiti Marine Reserve, established in 1992, was the first in the Wellington region.   The Government aims to have 10% of our coastline protected by 2010.

Editor

 Call for submissions on 2007 NZ threatened vascular plant list

The NZ Plant Conservation Network, in partnership with the Department of Conservation, has launched a submission process for the new NZ threatened vascular plant list for 2007.   Submissions may be made using the on-line form on the right side of the home page of the website of the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network – see www.nzpcn.org.nz.

Submissions are welcome until 31 March 2007.   The NZ Threatened Plant List will then be compiled by an expert panel comprising Peter de Lange, John Barkla, David Norton, Ewen Cameron, Peter Heenan and Shannel Courtney.   It will then be published and will replace the previous list (de Lange et al. 2004).

Even if you are not sure about the national status of a species, it is important that you submit your own data or make known your feelings about the changing status of native species based on your own surveys.   Possible changes include adding a new species to the threatened plant list or a downgrade or upgrade in threat status from its current listing.   For more information see the Network website – www.nzpcn.org.nz

References :   de Lange, P.J.; Norton, D.A.; Heenan, P.B.; Courtney, S.P.; Molloy, B.P.J.; Ogle, C.C.; Rance, B.D.; Johnson, P.N.; Hitchmough, R. 2004: Threatened and uncommon plants of New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 42: 45-76.

 National seed bank established

The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network announced in November the establishment of a national seed bank for NZ threatened plants.   The announcement was made at the Network annual conference in Auckland.   The seed bank project has been sponsored by MWHNZ Ltd, a consultancy company involved in a wide range of engineering and environmental projects.

The seed bank was launched at the Auckland Regional Botanical Gardens by Zoe Burkitt (of MWH) and The Hon. Chris Carter, Minister of Conservation.   The seed bank will be incorporated into the Margot Forde Germplasm Centre in Palmerston North and will be managed by AgResearch Ltd.   For more information about the seed bank see the website of the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network – www.nzpcn.org.nz

 WBS Bulletin 51 : Call for papers and articles

Now that Wellington Botanical Society Bulletin 50 is being made ready for publication, work has started on 51.   Have you discovered a threatened plant recently or a weed not previously recorded from the region or the country?   Have you visited an interesting botanical area and compiled a checklist of species you recorded there?   Have you completed research on native plants or plant communities?   Have you observed changes in the plants in a local reserve?   Have you discovered how to grow a native plant and want to share your knowledge?   Have you been involved in restoring native plants to a reserve?   The Bulletin is your venue for telling stories about plants to your fellow BotSoc members.

Please send articles or contributions to John Sawyer (jsawyer (at) doc.govt.nz), P.O. Box 5086, Wellington.

 Purchase of Otari Farms

We welcome Wellington City Council’s purchase of 70 ha of the property contiguous with Otari-Wilton’s Bush.   The land includes that from the Otari boundary, up to and over the ridge and down to the unformed part of Parkvale Road.   The land now in public ownership includes kohekohe forest, with pukatea, regenerating shrublands and pines.   WCC has fenced off all the bush areas.   Grazing on the part of the land in pasture will be leased to Mr Pierce.   The 70-ha will be gazetted as reserve.   Formerly owned by Meridian Energy, the remaining 330 ha of the farm have been sold to farmer Russell Pierce.

WCC is working with Russell Pierce to protect the bushclad headwaters of North Makara Stream between his pasture and the Kilmister Block owned by Council.   The gully includes tawa, kiekie and typical Wellington colonising species.   BotSoc botanised this area in November 1998 – see trip report in April 1999 Newsletter.

The committee will schedule a field trip to the 70-ha site.

Bev Abbott, President

 Percy Scenic Reserve extended

We welcome Hutt City Council’s acquisition of the Sir James Hector / London Estate which is bush-clad land above SH2, below London Road, Korokoro, and contiguous with Percy Reserve.   The land, surplus to the needs of Transit NZ, has been leased to HCC for a peppercorn rental.   Among the features of this second-growth forest are the closed canopy to 12 m, tawa to 18 m, significant regeneration (seedlings, saplings and poles) of kohekohe and wharangi, hinau to 65 cm d.b.h., and a planted hard beech, 65 cm d.b.h., possibly associated with Sir James Hector.

Lower Hutt Mayor David Ogden wrote to BotSoc on 22 September 2006 to thank us for doing a botanical reconaissance of the land, and speaking in support of our submission to Hutt City Council on 6 December 2005.

We thank members Barry Dent, Gordon and Sheelagh Leary, Barbara Mitcalfe and Chris Horne, led by Korokoro residents Kate and Barry Malcolm, for preparing a list of native and adventive plant species on the site on 18 November 2005.

Hector was the founder of the Dominion Laboratory, (later Chemistry Division, DSIR), and Geological Survey.   Mt Hector is one of the highest points in the Tararua Range.   Gordon Leary has suggested to HCC that the land could be officially opened to the public in November 2007 to mark the centenary of Hector’s death.

Bev Abbott, President

 QEII Trust Open Space Covenants

The trust has recently registered the following Open Space Covenants in the Wellington region:

Kapiti Coast D.C. / Carter – 57.1 ha forest;
• Carterton D.C. / Mckenzie, McInstry, Gold & Langridge – 16.2-ha wetland;
• Carterton D.C. / Butterick – 22.2-ha forest;
• Porirua C.C. / Farmview Ltd (6) – 0.8-ha shrubland;
• Wellington C.C. / Fenaughty – 5.5-ha forest;
• Wellington C.C. / Warren – 40-ha shrubland.

Source:   Open Space no. 68, 11/06

 Wanted

Marchantia polymorpha.   Photo: Rodney Lewington.

Have you seen a liverwort that looks like this?   It has a black dashed line down the centre of each “frond”.   The illustration is a large specimen – it can be only 15 mm across the whole frond.

Marchantia polymorpha ssp ruderalis has been found growing as a weed in seed-raising trays in the nursery at Otari-Wilton’s Bush and in two other areas that have connections with Otari.

This is a new record for New Zealand.   It probably emigrated from the UK and seems to have been here for a few years at least, but not recognised.

The purpose of this note is to seek information on its possible distribution within New Zealand.   Its most likely location is in nurseries.

If you see it, please tell Rodney Lewington, rodneyjl (at) xtra.co.nz; tel 04 475 3145.

 Rorippa divaricata

If you have seen this plant in the Mt Messenger / Whitecliffs area, or know where it has been recorded there, please contact me.

Jane Hart, Waikato BotSoc, janehart (at) xtra.co.nz.

September 2006 News

 Leptinella nana update

Leptinella nana.   Photo: Robyn Smith.

Leptinella nana is a tiny perennial herb which is found only in the Rai Valley, Marlborough, on Mt Pleasant in the Port Hills of Christchurch and in Whitireia Park near Porirua.   It is categorised as “Nationally endangered”.

For the past four years, I have planted plugs of Leptinella nana mainly in erosion hollows along the south cliffs of Titahi Bay.   Although most have failed, one of the original plantings has survived for four years and three sites from 2004 have also survived.   Despite eighteen months of drought, which broke with a vengeance this winter, there are now seven sites not only surviving but expanding in size.   One of these sites disappeared for the whole of the summer of 2005/06 and reappeared this autumn.   The original site, in an erosion hollow, has many fragments of plants and is spreading around the site.   Leptinella nana doesn’t like stability - it moves around if allowed but can’t compete with the likes of exotic grasses and buck’s horn plantain, Plantago coronopus, which is its major competitor in Porirua.

In the summer of 2005, Richard Gill from the Kapiti DOC office accompanied me to GPS all of the surviving planted sites.   He also advised me to try planting some new types of sites, namely in the narrow foot tracks around the area.   I was sceptical, but Richard said the foot traffic would keep the grass from overtaking the Leptinella, so I decided to try these areas.   Of course Richard was correct.   Three new sites were planted on three different parts of the narrow track above the cliffs.   Two of three sites have persisted through to the present.   Thanks Richard for such good advice.

Robyn Smith

 Whitireia Park – restoration planting

After three years of planning, the first restoration planting at Whitireia Park near Porirua took place on 20 August.   Eighteen months ago the Whitireia Park Board contracted Julia Williams of Drakeford Williams Ltd, a Wellington-based ecologically sensitive landscape architect consultancy to draw up a plan of the fenced-off escarpments on the eastern side of the park.

The Whitireia Park Board decided that the small catchment just below the largest bush remnant at Onehunga Bay would be the best place to start a restoration programme.   This catchment has running water in winter widening out to a wetland area, and it was deemed the best place to plant a continuous belt of native vegetation from the bush down to the carpark.

The local Titahi Bay Lions Club donated the funds to buy 600 plants in root trainers, and although this is a small number, it was important to start small and do it well and see if there would be community support for future plantings.   Ecosourced plants of Cortaderia toetoe, Phormium tenax, Carex virgata and Cordyline australis were used in the wetter areas, with Coprosma repens, Kunzea ericoides and Phormium cookianum on the drier sites.

The turnout of planters was overwhelming and we shall have two sessions of releasing over the growing season, and more plantings next year.

Robyn Smith, Whitireia Park Board member

Whitireia Park – restoration planting.   Photo: Robyn Smith.

 Peter de Lange receives Allan Mere award

Peter de Lange (Vice President of the NZ Plant Conservation Network) is the recipient of the Allan Mere award for 2006.   The Allan Mere Award is administered by the NZ Botanical Society.   The Award is made annually to a person or persons who have made outstanding contributions to botany in NZ, either in a professional or amateur capacity.

 Karori Tunnel eastern portal planting

We are grateful for the work done by WCC’s Berhampore Nursery in propagating and supplying another fifty hardy, Wellington plants, Poa cita and Phormium cookianum, which we planted on 7 September.   The kowhai planted 2 years ago are just beginning to flower, and last year’s wharariki and ti kouka have put on an impressive growth spurt.   This previously rubbishy, neglected site is already adding to local indigenous diversity and amenity - perhaps next year’s allocation of plants will be the last needed to complete the site.

Barbara Mitcalfe and Chris Horne.

 “Team Te One Bush” wins Weedbusters! award

BotSoccers on the 2004 Easter trip will remember botanising this 21-ha podocarp / broadleaf remnant on a Rangitikei river terrace in the Kawhatau Valley.   Some of the trees are estimated to be more than 500 years old, but there was a serious problem with old man’s beard, hectares of sycamores, and possums.   The Bush is now well on the way to recovery, thanks to Queen Elizabeth II Open Space Trust covenanting 6.9 ha, and Manawatu / Rangitikei Forest and Bird “Team Te One Bush” efforts which resulted in their winning first prize in the regional Weedbusters! Awards for conservation on privately owned land.   Horizons-Manawatu have now removed 95% of the sycamores and have provided possum control.   BotSoc has helped rescue this significant forest remnant by compiling a plant species list to support Team Te One’s application for restoration assistance, another example of WBS activity in the community at large.

Trisetum antarcticum. Photo: Barbara Mitcalfe.

 Trisetum antarcticum being restored to Wellington coast

Trisetum antarcticum is a NZ endemic grass of threatened status, categorised Gradual Decline.   Early records exist for western and southern Wellington coast, but it is now uncommon in the area.   Its habitat is coastal gravel, sand and bluffs, from sea level to 30 m a.s.l.   BotSoccers who were on the trip to the Carrad QEII Covenant on the western escarpment of Pukerua Bay, may remember seeing one lone plant of T. antarcticum on a foreshore rockstack, such is its rarity today.   Finding one plant of it three years ago during a survey of Tapu Te Ranga Island, and another, just north of Owhariu Bay, I gave seed of it to Jonathon Bussell, (Manager, WCC’s Berhampore Nursery), to propagate.   Hundreds of plants resulted, and on the advice of Wellington Conservancy, DOC, they are now being planted in appropriate sites such as Makara Foreshore Reserve and Matiu / Somes, Kapiti and Mana Islands.   The Flora of NZ Vol. V describes the T. antarcticum panicle as, “compact, dense, oblong; sometimes with spreading, lower branches, leaf-blade abaxially glabrous, scabrid above”.   I haven’t seen any Wellington T. antarcticum with spreading, branched panicles, but since I’ve never seen more than three plants in flower in the wild, I don’t know whether this particular characteristic is common in Wellington populations.   When in its vegetative state T. antarcticum looks much like e.g. Yorkshire fog, but the panicle is distinctive.

Barbara Mitcalfe

 Elytrigia pycnantha – unwelcome immigrant

This robust, strongly rhizomatous grass, thriving in large patches on Houghton Bay beach and dunes where spinifex should be, attracted my attention after the BotSoc trip to View Road South Headland Reserve last year.   From a distance it could have been mistaken for spinifex, so I took a flowering specimen, later identifying it as the grass Elytrigia pycnantha, sea couch, (NZ Flora Vol.V, page 404.).   The specimen is now in the Te Papa herbarium.   This rampant weed is overtaking WCC plantings of pingao and spinifex on the south coast, e.g. at Houghton Bay.   My impression is that it may have been mistaken for spinifex, since pingao has been carefully planted around it.   It is also thriving among marram and other weed grasses in Princess Bay and bays further east.   In Princess Bay it also grows in damp sand among rocks near the high tide mark, as well as on the dunes.   A site visit with Mike Urlich and Wayne Cowan, (Greater Wellington Biosecurity) has resulted in their commitment to monitor these infestations and to begin a spraying trial to eliminate or at least control this threat to our already battered south coast indigenous ecosystems.

Barbara Mitcalfe

 Percy Scenic Reserve : Redevelopment news – State Highway 2 realignment

Funding approved, tenders close in December.   Start date 3-6 months after that.

The plants that are in the construction areas have been propagated, (either by Robyn Smith or me) and either replanted in the gardens or growing on in pots.

We will know more when the final tender documents are received.

The new vehicle bridge over Percy Stream has been built, to enable trucks and other vehicles access into the reserve proper.   The new access into the reserve will be off Dowse Drive, a much safer option for workers and the public alike.

The aviary has been decommissioned, and the birds are now housed at Civic Gardens in Lower Hutt behind the Council Administration building.

The Druce and other plant collections are still being duplicated, and a new site has been found at New Plymouth.   Waireka Property Limited (a private property owned by John Matthews) has accepted the challenge of keeping a duplicate collection alive in Taranaki, with several hundred plants already transported to the site.   Owen Barriball is the horticulturalist in residence, and the property is being improved continuously with the construction of a greenhouse in progress.

Jill Broome Plant Collections Supervisor Percy Scenic Reserve

 Botanical Art Society

The society is located at the Avice Hill Centre, Memorial Avenue, Christchurch.   We are a group of artists with mixed abilities who meet twice month, with workshops held during the year tutored by local and overseas artists.   Our annual exhibition is held in February at Our City O-Tautahi.

Subscription: members $50; affiliates $20.   Members and affiliates receive newsletters, are entitled to submit work to exhibitions, and receive a 10% discount on any workshop or class run by the society.

Helen Nutt, President, BAS, 36b Hackthorne Rd, Cashmere, CH.   Ph 03 332 4750, fax 03 332 5364, e-mail cbas (at) xtra.co.nz.

 Larsen Crescent Bush, Tawa

We congratulate Wellington City Council which in 2005 accepted the submissions of Richard Herbert, Fraser Jackson and Friends of Tawa Bush Reserves, and zoned this important matai-totara-tawa remnant from Residential (Outer) to Conservation Site 5B.   The bush was saved from subdivision by the evidence to the Environment Court in 1996 of several people and organisations, including BotSoc, which resulted in WCC buying it from the developer.   Larsen Crescent Bush, c. 0.5 ha, was once part of the same indigenous forest community as Redwood Bush, across Peterhouse Street.

Sources: WCC Hearing Committee report 15/9/05; Richard Herbert; Barbara Mitcalfe.

 Short-tussock grassland – ecological values – threats

In response to the article on this topic in our April newsletter, Dr Bryan Jenkins, Chief Executive, Environment Canterbury, notes that another significant change in the Mackenzie Basin and adjacent districts is the replacement of tussock species by hawkweeds / Hieraceum sp., and bare ground.   Environment Canterbury is very aware of the biodiversity values of this special area, and is preparing a Biodiversity Strategy for the region, including the Mackenzie Basin and adjacent districts.

Environment Canterbury also provides advice on the Tenure Review process, which includes advice on biodiversity values that should be protected when proposals for Tenure Review for individual properties are being developed.   Staff are working with land occupiers in the Mackenzie Basin on land management matters in their area, including the protection of biodiversity values.

Dr Jenkins agrees with BotSoc that the biodiversity of the Mackenzie Basin and adjacent areas is unique.

Source: Letter from Dr Jenkins dated 6/7/06

April 2006 News

 Amy Hodgson’s early plant collection finds a new home at Te Papa

Amy Hodgson, Helen Druce’s mother, was an amateur botanist who became internationally known and respected for her pioneering research on liverworts.   For this work, at 87, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science from Massey University, where her bryophyte collection is held.   However it is Dr Hodgson’s early collection of native vascular plants, compiled in the 1920s, which Helen inherited and has now donated to Te Papa.   Dr Barry Sneddon and Dr Patrick Brownsey are very grateful to acquire the collection because Hawkes Bay plants are poorly represented in the Te Papa herbarium, and Amy’s collection is in remarkably good condition, with each specimen carefully mounted and annotated.   It is a privilege to handle these specimens collected so long ago, lovingly preserved in pursuit of a hobby which became a passion, and which contributes significantly to the sum of knowledge of Hawke’s Bay botany.

Barbara Mitcalfe

 Wellington Plant Conservation Network reactivated

On Tuesday 14 March 17 invitees attended a meeting at Otari-Wilton’s Bush Visitors’ Centre to consider a proposal to reactivate the WPCN.   The following were represented: GWRC, DOC, Excell, WCC Parks and Gardens, BotSoc, Otari, Wellington Botanic Garden, Berhampore Nursery and Karori Wildlife Sanctuary.   The Queen Elizabeth II National Trust sent an apology.   Convenor John Sawyer outlined the history of the WPCN including how it had led to setting up the NZ Plant Conservation Network.   Attendees were in agreement that the WPCN could fill a very useful range of roles such as providing direction, coordinating a range of plant conservation activities, offering expertise and advocacy and creating new and strengthening existing partnerships.   Those attending plan to meet again in May with information on their current plant conservation projects and suggestions for projects to be achieved in the next 12 months.

Barbara Mitcalfe

 Cape Palliser purchase secures stunning coastal landscape

In keeping with the government’s Conservation Policy to increase protection of coastal land, Conservation Minister Chris Carter has announced the purchase of the Stonewall Block, a 121-ha coastal property near Cape Palliser, south Wairarapa coast.   It will be managed as scenic reserve by DOC, protecting a pristine area as well as securing important recreational opportunities.   Rising from sea level to the Aorangi Forest Park boundary, and from the western part of Ngapotiki Fan to a boundary with land owned by the local iwi, Ngati Hinekawa, Stonewall Block has a diverse range of regionally threatened plant species and communities that make it an extremely important biological area almost unique in the lower North Island.   In combination with the adjoining Aorangi Forest Park it will provide complete sequences of vegetation from shoreline to hilltop that are not protected elsewhere.   The Ngapotiki Fan which has scientific and educational values will also be protected.   One of the conditions of sale is to continue to exclude 4WD vehicles to protect the biodiversity of the area.   Grazing will cease after the end of April 2007.

Adapted from a Press Release.   For more information, contact Allan McKenzie, Manager, Land Conservation, DOC, ph. 04-371 3099.

 Karori Tunnel eastern portal

The native plants supplied by WCC for the previously weedy, unsightly, over-steep slope above Karori Tunnel are now growing strongly.   We hope Berhampore Nursery will be able to supply plenty of Phormium cookianum this Spring to reduce maintenance by preventing rampant weed growth, and to complete the site’s ecological objectives.

 Wellington City plantings

Following WCC’s invitation to the public last year to submit ideas for “Greening the Quays” plantings, BotSoc discussed a range of ideas and criteria with members of the Urban Development Group.   We suggested replacing their preferred choice of Norfolk pines, with a mix of indigenous Wellington species, including some non-tree species which need less trimming and are less likely to interfere with underground utilities.   Clear views for pedestrians and those driving or cycling is clearly another criterion.   An important criterion for us, was the desirability of designing more street plantings with a view to enhancing urban indigenous biodiversity, such as the very successful use of the threatened shrub Muehlenbeckia astonii on Jervois Quay median strip.   Jonathon Bussell, manager of WCC’s Berhampore Nursery strongly supports this criterion and is keen to supply more threatened native plants such as Muehlenbeckia astonii and Euphorbia glauca.   Other eco-sourced native species such as Griselinia lucida and Chionchloa rubra, and also a range of native cultivars will be used for street plantings.   We do not know what the final selection of plants will be but we are pleased to have had some input.

Barbara Mitcalfe

 Riverscape botanical mural

Have you seen Ellen Coup’s 60-metre long mural on The Terrace, opposite the west end of Ghuznee Street?

Ellen began the mural in February, and completed it early in April.   Her research involved Wellington BotSoc, Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, and Wellington Public Library.   “I found a book in the library called Wellington’s Living Cloak, which was really inspirational”.   Ellen describes the mural as “an ode to the indigenous vegetation of Wellington”.   The “Riverscape” was funded by Wellington City Council, and cost about $8000.   Once signs are erected, it will be formally unveiled.

Reference: The Wellingtonian, 23/2/06.

(Wellington’s Living Cloak – A Guide to the Natural Plant Communities was written by Isobel Gabites, and published in 1993 by Wellington Botanical Society and Victoria University Press.)

 Road reserve plantings

We congratulate Berhampore Nursery for continuing to supply annually, free of charge, a range of hardy, Wellington native species for road reserve and revegetation purposes.   Thousands of these “bombproof” plants are distributed in Spring each year in response to applications by individuals or groups.   There is no guarantee of supply because sometimes it is exceeded by demand, but if you are interested in improving the amenity and indigenous biodiversity of road reserve by planting near where you live, you can make a written application to Jonathan Bussell, Manager, Berhampore Nursery, WCC, PO Box 2199, Wellington.   Now is a good time of year to do this.   The planting and subsequent maintenance are the responsibility of you and / or your group, but in this way we can put into practice our enthusiasm for native plants by helping to return them to the urban scene.

Barbara Mitcalfe

 Fungal Network of NZ

The network is a new society that was incorporated after the 19th NZ Fungal Foray at Ohakune.   Check www.funnz.org.nz for membership form, photos of past forays, more information, and links to other mycology sites.   Subscription: $15 – waged, $10 – unwaged.   The financial year is 1/3/06 - 28/2/07.

 QEII Trust Open Space Covenants

The trust has recently registered the following Open Space Covenants in the Wellington region:
• Horowhenua D.C. / Landcorp Ltd. - 4.0 ha, wetland
• Masterton D.C. / Beetham - 6.8 ha, forest, treeland, shrubland
• Masterton D.C. / Scott - 80.5 ha, forest, shrubland, wetland
• Masterton D.C. / Scott - 13.7 ha, forest, shrubland, wetland
• Carterton D.C. / Goodin - 2.4 ha, forest
• Kapiti Coast D.C. / Lincoln - 1.7 ha, forest
• Kapiti Coast D.C. / Palmer - 2.1 ha, treeland, wetland
• Upper Hutt C.C. / Glazebrook - 2.7 ha, shrubland, wetland
• South Wairarapa D.C. / Donald - 10.5 ha, forest.

Source: Open Space No. 66, 3/06

 Land protection

Wellington Conservancy, Department of Conservation, has recently protected the following sites:
• Mokiri Bush Scenic Reserve.   Wairarapa Area.   121.48 ha purchased from former owner.   Involves ROW through private land, subject to special conditions for access.   Northern part of RAP 7, Eastern Wairarapa PNAP report, comprising rewarewa-tawa (rimu) forest on upper hill slope; with manuka and kanuka hardwood forest on lower hill slope and gully.
• Hutton’s Conservation Covenant.   Kapiti Area.   9.5567 ha.   Owner: Hutton Farm Estate Ltd.   Native forest valuable as habitat for land snails.
• Ruamahanga Conservation Covenant.   Wairarapa Area.   c. 5.5 ha.   Owner: C.J. Hudson QC & L.P. Goddard.   Part RAP 11, Wairarapa Plains PNAP.   Kanuka forest on gully terrace and scarp, and otara / matai / titoki on riparian flat.
• Hoskins Covenant.   Wairarapa Area.   c. 5 ha in 4 side-by-side certificates of title.   Owner: C & B Hoskins.   Regenerating shrub forest, comprising kanuka, cabbage tree, nikau, matai and mahoe, adjoining east side of Rimutaka Forest Park.

David Bishop, Wellington Conservancy, Department of Conservation.   Ph 472 5821

 Nominations sought

If you have suggestions about who BotSoc should nominate for:
• Loder Cup
• H. H. Allan Mere Award
• Jubilee Award
• Conservation Award
please contact Barbara Clark, Secretary, Wellington BotSoc, PO Box 10 412, WN.   Ph 233 8202, fax 233 2222, kevin.clark (at) clear.net.nz.

 Reports from the committee

Among the topics discussed at the 23 March committee meeting were:
• 26 members have yet to renew their subscriptions
• 2006/07 summer field trip
• Bulletins - digitising them so that they can be put on web site
• Bulletin No. 50 - progress
• H.H. Allan Mere Award - nomination
• Weedbusters 2006 Award - nomination
• Loder Cup - nomination
• WBS Jubilee Award
• Easter field trips 2006 & 2007
• Wellington Plant Conservation Network - reconvening
• Iron-hearted Trees, by Dr Philip Simpson - sales by BotSoc
• invitation cards to specific people to attend evening meetings
• Manawa Karioi Ecological Restoration Project “Adopt-aplot” scheme
• WCC Community Grants Scheme - changes
• Wellington Conservation Board - vacancies
• Science Fair 2006 - WBS Award
• Lucy B Moore Scholarship Fund - request for donations

Editor

 Stan Butcher QSM

We congratulate Stan who was awarded the Queen’s Service Medal in the New Year’s Honours for his environmental work in the community.

When Stan was in the 6th form at Napier Boys’ High School in 1940, he painted a grim picture of the way we had treated our environment, but predicted that things might only get worse.   He wrote “Imagine how ridiculous it is to replace native bush, which abounds in wildlife and good timber, with the dark and sombre pines of doubtful value as timber, and in which very few of our native birds will live.   We have seen what the last 100 years have brought to this fair land, but do we know what the next will bring?   Will we see rapid regeneration of the native fauna and flora, or will we see a continuation of the present policy of taking all that a bountifully endowed land will give, and of giving nothing in return?”   It’s a question that remains valid 65 years later, although in the intervening years, Stan has done his best to make sure that we do not destroy our environment.

Since he retired in 1981, Stan has put thousands of hours into battling for our native plants and birds.   He is a long-time member of BotSoc, and is chair of Lower Hutt Branch, Forest and Bird Protection Society.   Stan is one of the stalwarts who have revegetated Matiu / Somes Island.

“We can’t look forward with any confidence to maintaining our current lifestyle.   Politicians seem reluctant to take the issue seriously, and with the population rapidly increasing, our flora and fauna is on a ‘path to destruction’”

Source: “The Hutt News”, 10/2/06

 Wellington Botanical Society Jubilee Award – 2005

We congratulate Rilka Taskova, PhD, Post-doctoral Fellow, School of Biological sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, recipient of the 2005 Award.

Research project title: “Chemotaxonomy and evolution of Heliohebe”.

Project description: Heliohebe, formerly recognised as Hebe, was segregated as a distinct genus by Garnock- Jones, 1993.   It includes five species confined to the northeastern parts of the South Island.   Heliohebe species are the closest relatives of Hebe and are important garden plants.   Studying their diversity and relationships is important for understanding the evolution of New Zealand’s flora and conservation.   The aim of the project is to provide a new chemical approach to assess the phylogeny and evolution of genus Heliohebe and its relationship with other members of the Hebe complex.

For more information, contact rilka.taskovastamenova (at) vuw.ac.nz ph 463 5233 ext 8136, fax 463 5331.

 Scurvy grass tops poll

Cook’s scurvy grass / Lepidium oleraceum was voted NZ’s most popular plant in the NZ Plant Conservation Network’s poll result announced in December 2005.   This threatened plant occurs in the Wellington region only on Mana and Kapiti islands.   Captain Cook made his sailors eat it during their exploration of New Zealand, because its vitamin C content helped to ward off scurvy.

Source: “The Dominion Post”, 3/12/05

 Short-tussock grassland – ecological values - threats

The valley-floor, short-tussock grasslands of the Mackenzie Basin contain important elements of our flora and fauna that are not found elsewhere.   They provide habitat for three endemic grassmoths of the genus Orocrambus, with another rare species shared with Central Otago – the females of all four species are short-winged which greatly limits dispersal, and makes them prone to local extinction.   These valley-floor grasslands are special and must be retained and protected.   We have abundant literature about insects from the late Graeme White’s recent work, and others, and a PNA report to base a case around.

The future of the low-tussock grassland and low shrubland looks bleak, because so little is protected, and the axe, in the form of irrigation, is about to fall on another area.   There are large, green pasture areas and dairy cattle now entrenched at Glenbrook.   There are still remarkably good examples of these indigenous plant communities south of the irrigated areas towards Omarama, and north towards Tekapo, but it seems only a matter of time before they are developed and irrigated.

If we do not act now, the Mackenzie Basin will look like most of Central Otago in no time, and we will soon forget how distinctive they are, or were.   Please send your ideas for how we can work to protect the remaining short-tussock grasslands to Brian Patrick, on whose e-mail this article is based: bpatrick (at) xtra.co.nz.

 Lucy B Moore Memorial Scholarship

After Lucy Moore’s death a scholarship was set up to honour this much-loved New Zealand botanist, by her old school, Epsom Girls’ Grammar.   Lucy attended E.G.G.S. in the 1920s and was dux in her final year.   During her subsequent career with DSIR, and in her long and productive retirement, she was always keen, in her quiet way, to encourage others.   Botanical artist Bruce Irwin gives a lovely account of her collaboration with him (Irwin, 2006) (safe now to tell!), and this is no doubt a typical example of her generosity and quiet determination to help others she judged had a contribution to make.

The scholarship consists of a book prize, usually around $60, and a scholarship of $500 to the top Year 13 (final year student) who intends to study the biological sciences at university, and it has been running since 1988.   The current interest on the principal in the fund is only sufficient, however, to continue the scholarship at about one third of this level.   Botanists who contributed then, and others, might like to make a donation to revitalise this award.

Cheques should be made out to:
‘Epsom Girls’ Grammar School Foundation’ clearly marked that they are for the ‘Lucy B Moore Memorial Scholarship’ and posted to:
Epsom Girls’ Grammar School, Silver Road, Epsom, Auckland 3.

To add a personal memory: Ross Beever was invited to speak at Lucy’s funeral about her contribution to science.   A nephew, who had contributed obviously very happy memories of a favourite aunty, came up to us afterwards and thanked Ross for explaining some mysteries, adding “We always knew she was terribly clever, but we didn’t know what she actually did!”

Jessica Beever

Reference :
Irwin, JB (2006) Lucy Moore - New Zealand botanical artist.   The New Zealand native orchid journal 98: 18-19.

December 2005 News

 QEII Trust Open Space Covenants

The Trust has recently registered the following Open Space Covenants in the Wellington region :
• Tararua / Hilson: 5.5 ha forest
• Tararua / McKenzie: 6.8 ha forest
• Tararua / Tapui Land Company Limited: forest and treeland
• Kapiti Coast / Thorpe: 2.8 ha forest

As at 2/12/05, there were 193 Open Space Covenants registered in the Wellington region, protecting 4899 ha of private land; and 2219 covenants protecting 74377 ha nationwide.

Sources: Open Space no.65, 11/05, and Dr Richard Allibone, QEII National Trust

 Percy Scenic Reserve news

It looks as if the redevelopment of State Highway 2 is finally going to happen.   Since the first intentions were notified by Transit NZ in July 1997, the staff at Percy have been in a holding pattern, with several commencement dates reached and passed.
Earlier this year the Government gave Transit $800m to use for roading projects throughout the country, so the start date for Percy redevelopment is now July 2006.
Propagation of the intended construction zone is continuing, along with the duplicates of the potted collection for insurance purposes.
Otari Wilton’s Bush and the Dench property have taken some of the duplicate plants into their care for the interim period, and other plant nurseries are being sought for holding some of the outdoor collections.
A new fernery is being created as the Parataniwha house is in the demolition zone.   It is not yet ready for public viewing; planting has been delayed until the irrigation system has been installed.

Open day
An open day was held at Percy on Sunday 31 October.   Arnold and Ruth Dench conducted the Alpine House Tours.
The weather was almost winter-like that day with torrential rain, and only 18 hardy people showed up for the three-hourly tours.
Positive feedback was received, and the recent publicity in the Hutt News and The Dominion Post helped advertise the open day.
Arnold supplied alpine seed he received from the NZ Alpine Society, and it was sown in September; so far one seed has germinated, Brachyglottis bellidioides.

Curly leaf on Macropiper and other trees.
We have had leaf curl affecting Macropiper, Aristotelia and some other trees in the reserve for some time.   The culprit was first thought to be two-spitted mite, confirmed by Massey University after samples were sent for analysis.   However, Rob Lucas has been visiting the reserve in recent months, capturing images for his new books, and studied the pest.
It has been identified as a relative to the cyclamen mite which lives in the humid conditions of the unfurling leaf.   A miticide will easily control it, but spraying has been delayed until the spring drought has been broken as most plants are under stress from lack of ground water.

Jill Broome

 Land protection.

Wellington Conservancy, Department of Conservation has recently protected the following sites :
• Kaitawa Conservation Covenant.   Kapiti Area.   119.5 ha.   Several owners.   Protects kamahi-tawa canopy forest adjacent to Kaitawa Scenic Reserve.
• Waikanae Estuary Scientific Reserve.   3.7358 ha purchased from Kapiti Coast District / Otaihanga Domain, to be managed as part of the adjoining reserve.

David Bishop, Wellington Conservancy, Department of Conservation.   Ph 472 5821

 Plant me instead – a guide to environmentally friendly gardening.

A high proportion of pest plants in New Zealand are garden escapees with on average 12 garden plant species a year becoming naturalised in the wild.   The Department of Conservation, in collaboration with local authorities and the gardening industry, has produced a book entitled Plant me instead that offers gardeners environmentally friendly alternatives to potential pest plants.
Plant Me Instead steers gardeners away from more than 70 invasive plants that could escape and threaten native flora, and encourages them to plant native and non-weedy exotic species instead.   The comprehensive guide book covers many of the common and invasive environmental weeds in the lower North Island.
The weeds described in this book have the potential to replace native species in the wild and, in some cases, entire native plant communities.   The best way to prevent your garden from being a source of weeds is to grow plants that won’t become pests.
Plant me instead can be purchased from a number of Wellington region bookstores or garden centres and retails for around $9.95.

Katrina Spencer, Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington.   E-mail: kspencer (at) doc.govt.nz

 Karori Wildlife Sanctuary botanical trail.

BotSoc has committed funds towards printing an interpretive brochure for use on the Te Mahanga track, where there will be numbered posts along the way, to correspond with numbered paragraphs in the text.   A specified requirement is that the text be pitched at an “accessible” level, without abstruse botanical terminology – not an easy criterion if one has a strict word limit and is trying to describe what makes a podocarp a podocarp!   When near its final form, the draft text will be circulated to KWST staff and Trust members, and BotSoc committee, for approval, before being sent out for commercial publication and printing.

We hope this volunteer BotSoc effort will help raise the profile of the indigenous vegetation in the Sanctuary, where so much attention is drawn to other biota such as birds.

Barbara Mitcalfe and Chris Horne.

 South Coast campaign.

Wellington City Council has begun a campaign targeting unsafe and environmentally damaging behaviour on the South Coast west of Owhiro Bay.

Of particular concern are the activities of some trail bike riders and some 4WD drivers.   WCC acknowledges the right of individuals to use this unformed public road, but expects that this will be done with the minimum of disruption to the environment and other users.

Restoration of the quarry faces and Haape Stream has been underway for some time, and has in places been successful.   However there have been frequent occasions when 4WDs and trail bikes have been driven onto these restoration areas and caused significant damage.   There have also been frequent incursions on other parts of the coast where indigenous vegetation occurs naturally, and motorised vehicles are driven over the dunes, beach and toe slopes, instead of the adjacent public road.

The campaign will feature new signage, newspaper articles, and a user guide to target this problem behaviour.   Rangers will also increase their presence in the area, and the Police will be involved if required.   We hope that because of the campaign publicity, responsible drivers and riders will become more proactive in reporting environmental vandalism.

As a follow-up to this campaign, I hope to form an umbrella group of volunteers who will be actively involved in the restoration of this coastline and its environs.   This group may be involved with the development of projects such as stream restoration, revegetation, and the separation of vehicular and pedestrian routes.   BotSoc has been identified as having an interest in the South Coast, so we will inform the society about future developments.

I am new to this position and to matters pertaining to the South Coast, I am keen to meet with as many interested individuals as I can.   If you have any thoughts, information or projects that you would like to share, please e-mail me at brian.thomas (at) wcc.govt.nz, or ph 027 474 5000.

Source: Open letter dated 17/11/05 to groups by: Brian Thomas, Park Ranger - South Coast, WCC

 Book review.

Published by Te Papa Press with support from the Project Crimson Trust, Pohutukawa and rata – New Zealand’s iron-hearted trees by botanist Dr Philip Simpson is a magnificent book.   Many beautiful illustrations embellish the text, which covers every feature of these iconic trees, from their unique, cellular structure, to their place in Maori tradition and their global significance as New Zealand members of the Myrtaceae family.   Meticulously researched but also with immense popular appeal, it will interest and enthuse readers from all walks of life – botanists, artists, historians, boat-builders and gardeners alike.

Barbara Mitcalfe

 Evening Meeting – 21 November :   BotSoc Student Travel Grant recipients.

This meeting, when five students at the School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University, described their research work, was a fascinating end to the year.   The speakers were introduced by Professor Phil Garnock-Jones.   They were:

Steven Cox.   The plant’s dilemma is to maximise their fitness for reproduction
Sarah Newman.   Is manuka locally adapted to the moisture regime?
Vincent Woo.   Rhabdothamnus solandri and its South Pacific relatives.
Veronica Howell.   Pollination of flax.
Zoe Haws.   Algae which are symbiotic with anenomes and corals.

Chris Horne

September 2005 News

 2005 AGM

2005/2006 committee.

At the 66th Annual General Meeting on 15 August 2005, the following were elected:

 Plant Conservation Awards

We congratulate the winners of the inaugural NZ Plant Conservation Network Plant Conservation Awards: • Council Award : Environment Bay of Plenty, for restoration of dunes;
• School Award : Lincoln High School, for restoring a shingle pit;
• Plant Nursery Award : Oratia Plant Nursery, for growing and selling >1000 species of native plant;
• Individual Award : Peter de Lange, for the greatest individual contribution to plant conservation;
• Lifetime Achievement Award : David Given, for his work over the past thirty years to promote and research native plants.

The awards were presented at the NZPCN conference in Christchurch 12-14 August.   BotSoc is a member of NZPCN.

Editor

 Revegetation in Wellington proceeds apace

Jonathan Bussell, Manager, Wellington City Council’s Berhampore Nursery, reports that 100,000 eco-sourced, appropriate native plants were planted on the Town Belt and in other reserves this winter.

 Members’ evening

On 16 May, the following members contributed to a stimulating evening :
• Arnold and Ruth Dench – botanical reading; threatened plants display.
• Ian Goodwin – photographs taken on our “fungal foray” on 7 May.
• Olaf John – photographs.
• Andy Malone – slides of Enderby Island, Auckland Islands.
• Barbara Mitcalfe – slides.
• Sunita Singh, via Arnold Dench – slides.
• Robyn Smith – slides of coastal revegetation at Titahi Bay.
• Julia Stace – slides of Raoul Island vegetation!

Another memorable members’ evening – thank you all!

 “Restoration of Owhiro Bay Quarry recognized

We congratulate Wellington City Council which has won the Aggregate and Quarry Association’s 2005 Mimico Environmental Excellence Award for “the massive transformation of the site in the six years since quarrying ceased”.   The $500,000 project has involved the shifting and recontouring of an estimated 300,000 m3 of overburden, tailings and soil, extensive plantings of coastal native plants, realignment of the coastal track, and restoration of Haape Stream / “Spooky Gully”.

Source : The Dominion Post, 11/8/05.

 “Two more notches in the green belt

We congratulate everyone involved in securing two Landcorp properties, Whareroa Farm, and most of Waitangirua Farm, in public ownership.

The acquisition of Whareroa Farm, at Mackays Crossing, near Paekakariki, completes the mountain-to-sea ecological corridor of public lands from Tararua Forest Park, via Akatarawa Forest, to Queen Elizabeth Park.   We look forward to the areas of native forest, shrublands and wetlands being fenced, and subject to restoration plantings and sustained control of pest animals, and pest plants and other invasive weeds.   The $4.5 million purchase will be funded by the Department of Conservation.   The agency which will manage the property will be announced in October.

The acquisition of 85% of the 1243 ha of Waitangirua Farm, for years managed as part of Belmont Regional Park, with public walkways across it, means that this property will be a permanent part of the park.   The $6.2 million purchase will be funded with local government money – Greater Wellington Regional Council and Porirua City Council.   The farm includes Nikau Covenant, Cannons Creek / Maara Roa Covenant, and an unfenced forest remnant, west of Boulder Hill, with nikau and four species of podocarp.

We look forward to the protection of the two properties, in perpetuity, by gazettal under the Reserves Act 1977, and the preparation of management plans for each.

Editor

 “Be the Difference programme”

Help keep the Wellington region as nature intended.

As part of its “Be the Difference” programme, Greater Wellington Regional Council has produced an A3 pamphlet, one side of which is entitled Why plant natives? – These are the good guys to have in your garden, the other side is entitled Why pest plants are a problem – How to recognise and dispose of pest plants.

To join the “Be the Difference programme”, contact Greater Wellington Regional Council, PO Box 11 646, Wellington, www.bethedifference.gw.govt.nz

 Waikato Botanical Society proposal

At Waikato BotSoc’s last committee meeting, their members decided to seek permission from all other botanical societies to EITHER:
1. have web site links through their respective web sites to read other societies’ newsletters OR
2. to receive an electronic copy of their respective newsletters to distribute to their members.

An electronic version of Waikato BotSoc’s Newsletter or web site address is available to any BotSoc wishing to distribute it to their members.   Their web site address is: http://cber.bio.waikato.ac.nz/Waibotsoc/WaikatoBotSoc.html

Source : adapted from e-mail from Jane Hart, Events Adviser, Waikato BotSoc.

At Wellington BotSoc’s committee meeting on 15 September, members decided to support this proposal.

 QEII Trust Open Space Covenants

The Trust has recently registered the following Open Space Covenants on private land in the Wellington region:
• Wairarapa / Fairbrother : 4-ha forest.
• Wairarapa / Ravenwood & Le Grove : 15.3-ha forest and shrubland.
• Kapiti Coast / Housiaux : 2-ha wetland.
• Kapiti Coast / Kapiti Coast District Council : 9.3-ha forest.
• Upper Hutt / Druce : 0.6 ha forest and shrubland.
• South Wairarapa / Monk : 2.1-ha forest.

As at 21/9/05, there were 185 Open Space Covenants registered in the Wellington region, protecting 4781 ha of private land; and 2155 covenants protecting 73228 ha nationwide.

Sources : Open Space No.64, and Dr Richard Allibone, QEII National Trust

 Congratulations! Ann Graeme

Ann won one of the 2005 Green Ribbon Awards, for her many years’ work in conservation, and for developing the Kiwi Conservation Club for children.

Ann spotted raukawa / Raukaua edgerleyi on our field trip in “Stuart Creek”, in the Ohau valley, Tararua Forest Park, on 4 December 2005.

 Congratulations! Ewen Cameron

Ewen is the winner of the 2005 Loder Cup, New Zealand’s premier conservation award.   Ewen is Curator of Botany, Auckland War Memorial Museum, and a member of Auckland Botanical Society.   Steve McCraith, Secretary, Auckland BotSoc, reports that Ewen has written numerous papers and books.   His main interests and expertise are in the weeds of northern NZ, and the indigenous and exotic floras of NZ’s northern offshore islands.   Ewen is well-known for his ability to teach beginners and experts alike.   Thank you, Ewen.

 NIWA Wellington Science and Technology Fair

We congratulate Josh Campbell, Hutt International Boys’ School, winner of this year’s Wellington Botanical Society prize of $100, for his project, Spectacular Spectabilis   Josh did his field work on Celmisia spectabilis in Tongariro National Park, where he studied the changes in leaf numbers, leaf length, and height of plants, with increasing altitude.   He found that only the height of plants changes, and postulated that their decrease in height with altitude is related to the increase of wind speeds with increasing altitude.

 Karori tunnel eastern portal planting update

This steep site is beginning to look cared for, as indeed it should, since it complements an urban structure now over 100 years old and still in good condition.   Last season’s planting of tii koouka and koowhai was largely successful despite very dry conditions year-round.   Recently the unsightly rubbish and weeds which regularly collect there were cleared and 30 Phormium cookianum, 15 Sophora microphylla, and several Phormium tenax were planted, all supplied by WCC’s Berhampore Nursery.   Ideally, if we can get enough closely planted Phormium cookianum next season, they should provide enough cover to smother the weeds and cut down on maintenance.

Barbara Mitcalfe

 Is pohutukawa really New Zealand’s favourite plant?

Voting has begun to find New Zealand’s favourite native plant for 2005.   The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network, in conjunction with the Isaac Centre for Nature Conservation, has launched a voting system to help us understand why we love our native flora.

Votes can be cast via the online voting system on the website of the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network – see www.nzpcn.org.nz.   This allows voters to record which species they are voting for, the region where they live and the reason they like a particular plant.

Pohutukawa has topped New Zealand’s national list in previous years (2002 and 2003) with kowhai, cabbage tree, kauri, nikau and rimu all making the top ten.   But what will be Number One for 2005?

Why should you vote? The exercise will make you think about what you love most about your native plants and why the native flora is special to you.   The project helps raise the profile of New Zealand native plants and helps educate people about New Zealand native plants (and what are not native species).   The profiling of New Zealand native plants via this annual project helps draw attention to the beauty and allure of our plants as a wonderful heritage.

For the first time this year we will be able to determine regional variations in the favourite plant.   That means we will be able to identify Wellington’s favourite species.   Prizes will be awarded to a few lucky people whose names will be drawn from all voters.   Each person may vote up to five times and the voting closes on 30 November 2005.   Up to date results may be viewed on the home page of the Network website (see www.nzpcn.org.nz).

April 2005 News

 Robyn Smith leaves Otari

We are concerned and disappointed that Robyn has resigned as curator at Otari, when Otari was obviously benefiting from her presence.   Robyn will continue to work there one day per week to manage the Druce and Dench collections, and the propagation house.

Robyn has accepted a part-time position at QE II National Trust as Wellington Region Representative.   She will take over from Tim Park who is going to work for VSA in Tanzania.

Joyce Stretton, President

 Northern rata returns to Wellington

For some years, BotSoc has been promoting the propagation and planting of Metrosideros robusta / northern rata in and around Welliington to replace the thousands of rata that were burnt during the colonisation era.

With the support of Project Crimson, Wellington City Council has now taken up the challenge, and this winter will plant 1500 northern rata over about 1,000 m2 of Tinakori Hill.

Barbara Mitcalfe

 QE II Open Space Covenants

The Trust has recently registered the following Open Space Covenants on private land in the Wellington region:

•   Kapiti Coast / Hobbs: 1.1 ha lowland secondary totara forest remnant.
•   Kapiti Coast / Bryant: 3.8 ha semi-coastal flaxland swamp and kahikatea treeland.
•   Kapiti Coast / Booth: 8.18 ha lowland lake and wetlands, with an area of scrub.
•   Horowhenua / Stern: 0.6347 ha revegetated coniferbroadleaved forest and wetland.
•   Tararua / McKenzie: 36.52 ha lowland rimu / tawa, miro / pigeonwood & horopito forest.
•   Upper Hutt / Flux: 41.40 ha lowland modified primary forest and secondary forest.
•   Upper Hutt / Flux and Park: 5.52 ha lowland secondary forest.
•   Tararua / Ahradsen: 23.0 ha forest remnant.
•   Horowhenua / Miles & Todd Whitehouse Trustees: 0.4 ha forest remnant.
•   Masterton / Le Grove & Levy: 4.7 ha forest remnant.
•   Masterton / Maunsell, Kershaw & Wylie: 4.7 ha forest remnant.
•   Masterton / Wyeth & Gawith trustees: 3.1 ha wetland.
•   South Wairarapa / Marsh & Woodhouse Trustees: 3.7 ha forest remnant.
•   South Wairarapa / Handyside, Delatour & Kershaw: 9.8 ha forest, geological feature, wetland.
•   Kapiti Coast / Alexander & Darke: 1.6 ha forest remnant.
•   Kapiti Coast / Bloomfield: 0.6 ha forest remnant.
•   Kapiti Coast / Kapiti Coast District Council: 2.5 ha forest remnant.
•   Kapiti Coast / Milne: 0.9 ha forest remnant.
•   Kapiti Coast / Oakley: 0.2 ha forest remnant.
•   Porirua / Jacobson & Muir: three wetlands – 0.2 ha; 0.4 ha; 0.4 ha.
•   Wellington / Warren: 16.0 ha forest remnant.

As at 21/4/2005, there were 174 Open Space Covenants registered in the Wellington region, protecting 4698 ha of private land; and 2068 covenants protecting 70759 ha nationwide.

Recent appointments to the Trust include Technical Officers – Biodiversity, Kathryn Whaley and Stuart Kilmister.

Sources: Open Space, Nos. 61, 62, 63, and Dr Richard Allibone.

December 2004 News

 Nothofagus; The five taxa of NZ beeches, with a brief note on the three Australian taxa

Menzies searched for Silver from Fiordland to the Ureweras
From Nelson to the Ureweras Fusca was seeing Red!
Truncata found Hard going around Nelson and points northward
And there, too, toothless Solander saw double, and saw Black!
But from a Cliff down in Fiordland, from a Mountain out to sea
He saw Guns and More, and on that shore, saw Cunningham, yes he!

 Trapping predators

If you want to increase pest animal control on your property by killing stoats, rats and hedgehogs, you may wish to consider the DOC 200 trap.   It was designed by Phil Waddington and DOC staff members, Ian McFadden and Darren Peters.   The trap is available in batches of 10, and cost $18.80 each plus GST and freight.   Freight on a box of 10 sent by NZ Couriers would be $8.86.   The trap comes with instructions on how to build a tunnel to contain it.   Information valid as at 16/12/04.

Traps can be obtained direct from the manufacturer, Curtis Metal Products Ltd: PO Box 22 131, Otahuhu.   Ph 09 270 3335, fax 09 270 3338, e-mail: sales (at) curtissprings.com.

If you would like to buy a trap ($22.05 each incl GST and freight, and are prepared to collect it at a BotSoc meeting, or on a field trip, or from 28 Kaihuia Street, Northland, please contact me at ph 475 7025, AND if there is enough interest to order the minimum number of 10 traps, I will order them.

Note:   Phil Waddington and Joy Waddington own Te Oranga Whenua QEII Open Space Covenant in Stokes Valley.   We botanised their forest on 4 May 2002, and saw some of Phil’s trap designs at work.

Chris Horne

 Boobialla... and pohutukawa in Wellington

During our Lower Hutt rata walk on 11 December we noticed several street plantings of Myoporum insulare, boobialla, an Australian relative of our native ngaio.   Since the boobialla was in the midst of otherwise all-NZ native plants, it was probably planted in error, as NZ ngaio.

Regrettably boobialla has been planted extensively over many years by local authorities in the general Wellington region, but because it hybridises with our NZ native ngaio, Myoporum laetum, there is a risk that M. laetum will be lost as a species.

This situation is analagous to that of Metrosideros robusta, northern rata, which is at risk from hybridisation with Metrosideros excelsa, pohutukawa, which is not naturally occurring in the Wellington region.   Such pollution of the gene pool can surely not be considered natural when it is human induced.

Barbara Mitcalfe

 Leptinella nana

Further to my last report on trying to establish a new population/s of Leptinellla nana on the south cliffs of Titahi Bay, only three sites have persisted; one for four years and two for three years.   I have come to the conclusion that at least one site will continue to persist and probably the other two sites will, but I am not entirely certain.

Given this, I have sent a species record sheet to John Sawyer at Wellington Conservancy, Department of Conservation.

The very best site is the original one, which is in an erosion hollow.   Although the site faces north, it has low Ozothamnus and Poa cita providing shade through the hottest part of the day.   This site contains eight patches of the Leptinella.   It retains moisture the longest of any of the sites.   The only problem with this site is a Crassula that keeps germinating.   I trialled this combination in a pot at my house, and the Leptinella copes well provided it establishes first.   I will, however, continue to weed the plantings on the cliff and give the plants a chance to produce offspring.

I am not sure if any of the plants are new, but have been given some great feedback and advice from members of the Leptinella nana advisory group on monitoring the plants.   Hopefully, I will be able to establish if new plants are germinating.   Some of the patches flowered this spring.

I planted six new plugs of Leptinella this winter, two in the existing original site and four in new sites, as I believe I should keep trying new sites.   It was a bit of a worry to discover some spent fireworks close to one of the sites recently, and it makes me realise we need to have several new sites established in case the hillside goes up in flames.

Robyn Smith

October 2004 News

 AWARDS

Ian Atkinson speaking following the presentation to him of the 2004 Mere Award.   Photo: Tim Park.

HH Allan Mere Award 2004:   Dr Ian Atkinson.

We congratulate Dr Ian Atkinson of Upper Hutt, a nationally and internationally renowned ecologist, who was presented with the New Zealand Botanical Society’s HH Allan Mere Award by NZ BotSoc’s Colin Webb at our evening meeting on 20 September.   Wellington BotSoc is proud to have had the privilege of nominating Ian for the award, in co-operation with Botanical Society of Otago.   We are delighted that Ian was successful and congratulate him warmly.

This award is administered by the New Zealand Botanical Society for outstanding contributions to botany in N.Z.

Loder Cup 2004:   Colin Ogle

We congratulate Colin Ogle, an expert field botanist, who in August was honoured with the Loder Cup, New Zealand’s premier plant conservation award.   It is a fitting tribute to Colin’s research, observations and recording of native plants for so many years, and to his ability to pass on his enthusiasm and knowledge to others.

2004 NIWA Wellington Science and Technology Fair – BotSoc 2004 Botanical Award.

We congratulate Ella Mayston, from Muratai School, who won the BotSoc Botanical Award of $100 for her project “Native Plants vs Bacteria”.

Ella presented an outline of her research and findings at the BotSoc monthly meeting on Mon. 18th Oct., 2004.   Ella chose her topic because she was interested in native plants and there was a good variety close at hand to where she lived.   After collecting samples of bacteria from compost she grew this on in galantine.   She prepared samples of the plants, using instructions given in two reference books on Maori medical usage of plants, using leaf material apart from flax where root material was used.   The plant material was then applied to small squares of blotting paper and placed in the bacteria.   Interest was high with a number of questions following from the floor.  

Ella reports; “My experiment in the 2004 NIWA Science Fair was testing the effect of traditional Maori remedies, using native plants, on the growth of bacteria.

“I chose several plants, e.g. rangiora, koromiko, broadleaf, harakeke, cabbage tree, kawakawa and karaka, and compared them with a modern antibacterial medicine, Betadine.   I prepared the traditional remedies according to Maori methods, and cultured bacteria on gelatine.   I was surprised to find that all plants had some effect on the bacteria, and that broadleaf, Griselinin littoralis, was more effective than Betadine.

“I was really thrilled to win the Wellington Botanical Society prize, as well as second place in my class (year 8).

“I am really looking forward to my year as an honorary member of Wellington Botanical Society!”

We thank Joyce Stretton and Darea Sherratt for their work judging the entries.

Chris Horne

 2004 AGM

2004/2005 committee.

At the 65th Annual General Meeting on 20 August 2004, the following were elected:

President’s message

As your new president, I am looking forward to the coming year with a little trepidation, but with a lot of trust in the committee and the support of all members.   These now total almost three hundred.   What a great interest in botany there must be in the Wellington region!

It has been good to see lately the degree of concern for the environment and New Zealand’s indigenous biological diversity (“biodiversity”) expressed by local bodies in the region.   In the last six months alone, they have published several plans, proposals and reports, and sought public submissions on them.   From the detailed knowledge of Chris Horne, Barbara Mitcalfe and others we have prepared authoritative submissions, which we hope will have been effective.   I believe that if we confine our views to the botanical aspects of such documents, in accordance with our constitution, our submissions will be valued and effective.

I am interested in promoting more interaction with BotSoccers.   With this in mind, I wonder if we could have occasionally an evening meeting involving a botanical question, perhaps led by an expert.   I favour a topic that could have a controversial aspect.   We could all freely express our ideas, and this may help the committee to form a BotSoc policy on it.   Some questions I thought of are :
• Should BotSoc encourage th